‘Our family serving your family’

ROBERT Lodge believes in family values. He is so convinced it makes all the difference the word appears twice on the front cover of the company brochure that helps guide relatives who have lost a loved one.

Robert Lodge, seated, and the present generation of funeral directors say family values are paramoun

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Lodge Brothers is a funeral director — independently run by six members of a family that can trace its lineage back through seven generations to James Lodge, a builder and carpenter who founded the proud business dynasty in the 1780s. Robert boasts: “We are older than Australia.” Although remaining a family firm, Lodge Brothers has 31 branches and employs 140 people. This makes it a large family but Robert says: “It has taken us well over 200 years to get here.” The family even spreads its homes neatly around the county with Andrew, for instance, living in Chobham while Egham, Teddington, Weybridge and Esher all provide prestige locations for others. In this area, the Lodge Brothers’ office in Old Woking Road, West Byfleet is possibly most familiar. The group also owns Boutell funeral director in Byfleet, which sold out to Lodge because it wanted to stay with an independent family firm rather than the giant combines such as the Co-Op or Dignity plc. Surprisingly, the world of the funeral director is anything but traditional. The rules change constantly. Although Robert is delighted with the strong support of the clergy in the Byfleet and West Byfleet area, he says in many cases religion plays a less significant role than in the past. He says: “We find fewer hymns are asked for and favourite CDs play a bigger part in planning a service. We are involved more and more with humanist and civil ceremonies.” His team has also had to “get up to speed” with the traditions of the ethnic community. “Very often a third generation immigrant will not completely understand the religious rights of their parents or grandparents,” he says. “They may be a serious anglophile and a banker in the city. We have to help them because they will not want their relatives coming from Birmingham, saying they are doing it all wrong.” He says most notably people’s expectations of the service offered have increased greatly. He explained: “Quality of premises, vehicles and the whole service ethic of the funeral director have changed dramatically. “Going back into our history the premises were relatively unimportant as the deceased would have remained at home until the ceremony. That is not the case today. “People like to personalise their funerals. They are more educated about what is possible.” Robert says prepayment plans for funerals have also taken on a major significance. “Someone can arrange the sort of funeral they want precisely and know they are leaving the minimum amount of worry for relatives. The system also offers very good value,” he said. “You know what you have paid for and what you will get. It is real peace of mind.” He says the role of a good funeral director remains at the core of the funeral. He said: “We gain business by word of mouth and recommendation but most people do not get directly involved in more than perhaps two funerals in their life. There are not many opportunities to make a mistake. “Obviously we have been around for a long time with the continuity of brothers, sisters, cousins and uncles running the company and this must give our reputation authority.” He believes the philosophy Lodge Brothers works by is still the company’s watchwords: “Our family serving your family.” Contact Lodge Brothers on 01932 355897 and at westbyfleet@lodgebrothers.co.uk.